sedum cuttings

daninthedirt(Cent TX; HZ10, Sunset z30, USDA z8a)July 14, 2013

Can someone point me to some good instructions for propagating sedum by cuttings? I snipped a couple of lower leaves of near the single stem of what looks to be creeping sedum, in a small pot, and stuck those in good potting soil. Kept it moist. Three weeks later, the leaves have rotted away, and I'm frankly not sure what has happened. I hope to see something green popping up from there those leaves were stuck in the soil, but my optimism may be fading.

If I had two stems, I'd just divide the plant. But I don't have that option.

In most cases, it's much harder to get sedum cuttings, or even whole leaves, not to root, than it is to be successful. They are so easy that you have to work to make it not work.

When I propagate sedums, I take cuttings, leave them laying out long enough to dry the cuts out well (at least 24 hours, more for larger cuttings), and then plant them in pretty much any decent well-draining potting soil. I water them lightly, once, and then forget about them for a while. Watering them often will only encourage rot.

It sounds like overwatering may have been the problem in the case above.

Thanks. That makes a lot of sense. I kept the soil quite moist, and I even put a small plastic bag over the pot to seal in the humidity. So maybe I'll try it again with less aggressive hydration. I'll keep the original pot around.

Should I expect the leaf cutting, implanted in the soil, to shrivel up and die, or should I expect them to stay green?

I'd like to know more about how big these "leaf cuttings" are and exactly how the cuttings are made. Entire leaves of larger-leaved types root easily. Smaller-leaved types may require stem cuttings. In either case, the cutting will have to remain green to survive. A dead (brown) cutting is not going to grow.